Dresden 2/11/2008 - Part 3

Geez, this is really a drag. I am still in the midst of rushing through my assignments and write ups of our technology transfer knowledge to be brought back to Malaysia. There is still 21 days to go. I have already experienced WINTER and SNOW last week. Yet, I will continue with my tales from the historical land of Dresden. Hopefully this would be the final chapter of Dresden.

Behind me would be the bridge connecting the old town of Dresden with the new town. The river is known as the Elbe River.. It has caused massive flood some years ago..

An impressively posh looking restaurant on shore.... Bad shot... Bad angle.... >:(

The group with Elbe River as our backdrop..

We walked across the bridge towards the new town of Dresden. There was nothing much to see over there. Almost 90% of the shops were closed on that Sunday. There was absolutely nothing to shop and it was quite a miserable walk for me..

The Dreikonigskirche Church in the new town. This was the only interesting place we saw in the new town.. Oh wait, there is another one, a major Dresdenlandmark of the new town..

The Blockhouse and the Golden Rider!

Me posing with the Golden Rider. The Golden Rider has been around since 1735, and it is a gilded equestrian statue of Augustus the Strong. It shows Augustus the Strong; the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, dressed as a Roman Emperor.

Those were the only two spots worth visiting in the new town. Back to the old town, we also saw the famous mural, named 'The Procession of Princes'.

Stretching across 102 meter (334ft) long, it depicts a parade of rulers of the House of Wettin since 1127.

There are a total of 35 princes, dukes, margraves and kings shown on horsebacks accompanied by foot soldiers and other people. It was originally painted between 1870 and 1876 and later on replaced with porcelain as the original painting began to deteriorate between 1906 and 1907. Around 25000 ceramic tiles were used on this wall.

The Catholic Hofkirche Church. It was a very foggy day frustrating for photo-shooting.

Georgenbau, the oldest part of the Royal Palace.

Just check out the amazing setting where the wonderful pianist showed off his skills.

The beautiful tunes blended magically into the atmosphere of the old town of Dresden.

Me, in front of Frauenkirche Church (Church of Our Lady). It survived the bombings of Dresden during World War 2 but was totally burned out and collapsed the next day.

The original church was built between 1726 and 1743. After the destruction during World War 2, it took 13 years for the reconstruction of this church, and was finally completed and unveiled to the public on 2005.

The Frauenkirche Church, majestically standing once again. For me, it is the most breathtaking view in the entire Dresden.

Me posing with the statue of Martin Luther, which is located opposite of the Frauenkirche Church.

Life is like a box of chocolates. Lingam and me with a sweet-looking girl selling Dresden chocolate coins.

Me, trying hard to keep a straight face. It has been rounded for a little too long!! :D

I guess that is all for Dresden. I can't find any reason for me not to fall in love with this city. It was a fantastic trip. I will write on Berlin soon. Berlin in two seasons. Autumn and winter. Till then, stay safe and keep tuning in!!

Dresden - 2/11/2008 - Part 2

Hello! Yet another long interval from me. Have been rushing mad to complete several items at work.

Ok, off with some interesting places I visited in Dresden:

I was standing in front of a monument opposite the Semper Opera House & Theaterplatz.

This was the building right behind of the monument..

Mighty steeds at your service!

This dude is a real human being. We initially thought it was just another lifeless item on display, when we suddenly saw his hands moving.

Another pair of still-life street performer. He waved at me for tips after posing, and I obliged with a couple of syillings.

A trishaw spotted in Dresden..

This is an interesting way to travel the little city. Six persons could take a ride in this interesting looking bike, which is being led by a tour guide. Everyone has to cycle together in order to get it moving. I was too excited when I saw it that the photo taken is badly tilted. I miss Photoshop.. :(

I guess there'll be a few more parts to go for my Dresden postings. Too many things to show, too little time.. I will post again soon. It's 3.15am here and I need to sleep. Till then, have a nice day and thanks for dropping by!!

Dresden - 2/11/2008

Hi there! It is unfortunate that I couldn't update my blog as regularly as I would have loved to. I am currently very busy with my assignment write-ups and project papers. Anyway I guess I would be writing a little bit about Dresden as I have mentioned last week.

We went to Dresden on a day which I was supposed to be celebrating someone's birthday. I hope she loved the roses which I ordered through the internet, which was safely delivered a day before Dresden's trip. Don't worry, I'll bring back lotta goodies for you, ok? :)

The weather was my greatest enemy on that day. Visibility was poor, and my photos turned out crappy. The weird thing is that, my exposures were perfect most of the time and even the preview in the camera looked great. Somehow the results are a little disturbing for my own liking. Yes, I refuse to admit that I'm not good in my photographic skills!!! =D

Five of us went to the trip on our own on that day. We were fortunate to have similar off days. Usually on Sundays, there would be 2 shifts resting, while another 2 more working.

L-R: Chu, Lingam, Fang Fang (in her usual cheeky pose), me and Hizzatt. This photo was taken by a Japanese dude strolling around with his little muse.

Just a little introduction about Dresden. During the olden days, Dresden used to be the royal town for the Electors and Kings of Saxony. Rich with awesomely grand looking ancient architecture, Dresden was controversially bombed by the British Royal Air Force and also United States Army Airforce during World War 2 in 1945. The total number of casualties were estimated to be around 35,000 people, and 90% of the city centre destroyed. I managed to see through the photos from postcards and books in Dresden on the devastation caused to the beautiful city during the bombing. Interestingly, there were quite a number of photos in the books on certain point of the city which shows the bombing aftermath, and the current condition of the specific location. It's a marvel how they managed to restore the conditions of the buildings around the city. Search for 'Dresden' in Google, and read on a chapter on 'Bombing of Dresden' in Wikipedia...

The journey from Leipzig to Dresden by the normal train took about 1 and a half hour. It's just like our good old KTM Komuter. It stops at each stations in between the journey. We took the 7.59am train and reached at about 9.30am. It was a Sunday, and 90% of the shops there were closed.

We wanted the name 'Dresden' to appear in our photo. This was while we were walking to the old Dresden town.

Lingam and me. We're gonna be housemates back in Malaysia! Always trust a 'macha' to look out for you!

The first point of destination was the Zwinger Palace.

There is a wide view of beauty behind the gates of the Zwinger palace..

Can't wait to get my hands on my own PC. I'll Photoshop this shot to be straight and nice!

Zwinger has loads and loads of statues on the walls. Most of the time, naked.

Rows of fountains to be seen within the walls of the Zwinger.

Us posing around a pool inside of the Zwinger..

Achtung!! Boobies alert!!! :D

Outside of Zwinger, we bumped into a group of school girls practicing on their recorder performance. I guess they would be performing a there as well.

I guess I will have to stop posting for tonight. I will continue with a second part of Dresden soon. There's a whole load more for me to show, but the uploading rate of the photos are annoyingly slow, and it's getting to my nerves already. Anyway, do check out the blog regularly. I will try my best to update it at least once in a week. Till then, take care!!

Times Like These

I had this particular song by the Foo Fighters that kept ringing in my head, especially the chorus part...

It's times like these you learn to live again,
It's times like these you give and give again,
It's times like these you learn to love again,
It's times like these time and time again...

I guess it's one of life's mysteries which I'll experience time and time again. One which I would never learn... :/

My next post would be covering the latest trip to another city I fell in love with....

Dresden... Till then, have a nice day!!

First Trip - Gorlitz - 25/10/2008

Our employer have been kind enough to organise several trips for the Malaysians in Germany. Having bitterly missed the Leipzig tour due to shift-obligations, we hopped on the opportunity to join the trip to Gorlitz.

The journey took us around 3 and a half hours from the bus terminal next to the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof. The bus was full with eager Malaysian troops ready to march into an unknown territory. I have to say that the journey was extremely long and boring. There were nothing much to see along the way, except for occasional windmill fields along the road. Windmills have never failed to capture my admiration.

Gorlitz is located on the borders between Germany and Poland. Located opposite the Polish town Zgorzelec, across Lusatian Neisse River, I would have to say that it is a dead city. Deep with interesting historical facts and amazing old structures though. I have also learned that the German football player, Michael Ballack comes from this small town. Whoopie!! :D

We come, we see, and we SHOOT!! We're just a bunch of eager Malaysian posers... :)

I could have kicked myself for not paying attention at all towards our tour guide as she busily explained to us about the history regarding the buildings around us. Therefore, I have only photos to share, without much background knowledge of them.. :(

Apparently hundreds of years ago, this area used to be a very busy trading ground for the locals. These days they serve as parking spots for the Gorlitz folks.

Beautiful constructions of the olden ages.

A friendly bus driver in the neighbourhood waving at me... Check out how ancient the bus is..

My buddy Lee and me with some nice structures around us..

Ladies of the company posing in St. Peter's Church..

Breathtaking pillars inside of the church, with intricate details crawling up to the ceilings.. Did not take too many shots in the church though, as I felt a little uneasy after being told that there was an old lady in black observing me.... (Maybe she was checking me out, hahahaha!!)

As you could see in this photo, behind me would be Poland's land. That is the Lusatian Neisse River separating these two countries..

The manufacturing team. L-R: Hizzat, Looi (our direct boss), Fang Fang, Daniel and Lingam.

Us, standing on the borders of Germany-Poland..

A sweet little cafe along the river... It's located along Germany's river banks..

Me, standing right in the middle of the border, with the grand view of the St. Peter's Church in the background..

Blending into the historical city..

Reminds me of things that we normally see in Jonker Street, Melaka..

We also managed to see a skilled glass maker in action. He uses the traditional blowing method to form beautiful shapes of glasses in his little store..

An interesting monument in the Gorlitz 'newer' city... Don't know what it represents, but it is nice..

Just a little evidence of being in Gorlitz. I had to strike a typical 'lepak' pose for it.. :D

Me, in front of another eatery... I guess it was closed at that time...

I guess that's all for now. Not very informative. Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos. It was a long journey to Gorlitz, but it was worth spending time there. And hey, I've WALKED into POLAND!! I bet not many people could say that and prove it.. :D

Will post again soon. Take care..